Fresh Meat
by persianprincess11
Summary: The story of how the Piper and Firefox came to be recruited into Capricorn's gang. Also has Basta in it. Technically a prequel to Sun and Moon, but you don't have to read Sun and Moon to read this.My first time writing in a while, R and R!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I've recently been checking my mail and I see a couple people who want to know when I'm going to continue writing my other story, Sun and Moon. The truth is I'm not sure; in my opinion it had completely gone stale and I'll have to do some thinking to actually get it going again well. For now, while I'm feeling the itch again, I'll be writing shorter stories that are 3 to 5 chapters long focusing on the Piper, Firefox, Basta, and sometimes Dustfinger in the years before Capricorn disappeared, along the lines of my other stories, A Piper Among Players or In Which Basta Gets Laid. They'll technically be prequels to Sun and Moon, but you don't have to have read Sun and Moon to read them.

-persianprincess11

Chapter 1

A light rain was just beginning to dampen the stones of Capricorn's fortress and the sun was starting to rise as three horses sped toward it at breakneck speed. The guards spotted them from a mile away, thanks to the fortress' advantage of being on a hill, and assumed it was a hunting party returning. After all, what fool not already a member of Capricorn's legendary gang of fire-raisers would dare venture to the stronghold of one of the most feared men in Lombrica and Argenta combined? Much less at an hour when only the maids and those on watch were awake?

As they reached the point on the road where the forest ended and they came into easy view of those in the fortress, the lead horseman slowed to a halt. The other two followed suit. The leader, who was a dark haired young man with a cat's yellow eyes, glanced backward at his companions, one of whom was fair haired and the other a redhead.

"If you're going to back out, now would be the time." His voice sounded like a challenge in the dewey air. He paused, waiting, but neither of the other two men spoke. "Well? Ivo? Fabio? Are you still with me?" Fabio, the redhead, merely shivered, a haunted look in his eyes.

"Yes. We're with you." Ivo, the fair haired one, finally said.

"Good. But before we ride on, we need to decide what we're calling ourselves."

"What do you mean? Aren't we just Ivo, Fabio, and Anzio?" Ivo asked.

"All the fire-raisers have nicknames. To make them sound intimidating." Anzio explained matter-of-factly. "I'll be the Panther, because of my eyes. You?"

"I want to be a minstrel, so I'll be the Piper." Decided Ivo.

Anzio snorted. "Really? Don't you think minstrels are kind of—"

"Firefox." Fabio spoke for the first time.

"What?" Anzio asked.

"Firefox. I'll be Firefox. Because of my hair." His voice was still shaking a little, but his eyes had lost their haunted look for the moment.

"Fine. And I guess you can be the Piper if you want." Anzio conceded, nudging his horse forward. "Let's go then. And let me do the talking!" he called back as they start to gallop toward the fortress.

Basta was an early riser, not because he loved mornings, but because his dreams made sleep very uninviting. He blinked the drowsiness from his eyes and started playing with his favorite knife to keep himself awake. When three people he had never seen before rode into the courtyard, however, he started and ended up cutting his fingers. At least it woke him up. He cursed and stormed over to where the riders were dismounting.

"Exactly what do you think you're doing?" he spat at them. The first turned to him and he inwardly blanched at his yellow eyes. Yellow eyes were bad luck, very bad luck indeed.

"We want to join you." He said, surveying the courtyard with an arrogant tilt to his head. "Take us to Capricorn so we can introduce ourselves and pledge our loyalty."

"Who said we want your loyalty?" Basta replied indignantly.

"Who's we?" snorted the stranger as he looked over Basta's shabby leather coat, threadbare clothes, and scuffed boots. "It's Capricorn who will have my loyalty, not you." The way his eyes swept up and down his small frame contemptuously made Basta want to stab him in the eye socket.

"I'm Capricorn's second in command, dumbass, so I would actually have a lot more of your loyalty than you thought!" he sneered, noting with satisfaction the flicker of dismay in the man's eyes.

"My friend is just tired from riding all night; he doesn't mean to be rude." Said the blonde more respectfully.

"I see. What are your names, then?" Basta asked.

"I am the Panther." The first man said hastily, as if racing to speak. "And this is the Piper," he nodded to the blonde, "and Firefox." He nodded to the redhead.

"The Panther? Please." Basta said coldly. "What's your real name?"

After a moment, his lip curling, the man replied, "Anzio."

"Then that's what well all call you. 'Firefox' is fine, and I guess 'the Piper' will do, but 'the Panther' is just silly." He was starting to enjoy this. "You can wait until Capricorn wakes up to talk to him. And don't bother putting your horses in our stables because you'll most likely just be riding right back to wherever you came from again anyway." He started to walk away.

"Excuse me, but what's your name?" called the Piper.

Basta stopped. "Basta." He called back, and stalked inside to have the maids fix him some breakfast.

The Piper followed Anzio's pacing with his eyes from where he was sitting. "You okay, mate?" he whispered to Firefox, who was next to him. Of course he knew the answer was no before he asked. There was an aura of shame and self loathing coming off his friend that even Anzio must have noticed.

"I will be." Firefox whispered. "Domenica won't, though." A muscle in his jaw spasmed at the thought of it.

"Hmmm." The Piper said neutrally. He paused, then—"Why did you do it?"

"I didn't really. Her father caught me before I could."

"Well, why did you try to."

"I don't know." Came Firefox's pained whisper. "I had had a lot to drink…I thought…I don't know!" his voice quavered, threatening to break.

"It's all right." The Piper murmured soothingly. "You're all right, she'll be alright, and I'm sure the whole goddamn town will be alright without us." Gazing about he noticed that maids here were _beautiful._ He caught the eye of a dark haired girl of about sixteen slinking toward the stables and smiled. She smiled back, flashing glittery black eyes. _Damn._

"My parents…what will they think of me?" Firefox said so quietly he was almost mouthing the words, but the shame in his voice brought the Piper back to reality.

"Don't think of that now." Firefox nodded and took a sip out of a flask of wine he had brought along. The Piper looked up and saw a tall, gaunt man striding out of the main building toward them, followed closely by Basta. Anzio noticed as well and stopped pacing.

"Good morning, gentlemen." Capricorn stopped in front of them and inspected them as if they were horses he planned to buy. "What's your business here?" He was dressed much more impressively than the other fire raisers they'd seen, and he carried himself with the air of a prince. He was the most noble, important looking man any of them had ever seen, and Firefox and the Piper were speechless. Anzio, however, was not.

"My lord, we wish to join you." He said with more respect than the Piper had ever heard him show anyone. "I am Anzio, otherwise known as the Panther, and this is the Piper and Firefox."

Capricorn sized him up, recognizing him as the leader of their little trio. "You want to join me," he repeated pensively. "Well, Anzio—" A flicker of disappointment went over Anzio's face at the use of his real name. "I'd certainly love a few more followers, but you see, I only want _followers._" he emphasized. "I do not prize ambitions of leadership, questioners of my decisions, or really, _thought_, in general, other than about what would please me the most. Does that make clearer to you the kind of gang you're about to join, and the sort of person you would need to be to fit in?"

"Of course." Anzio nodded obediently.

"Good. And you understand I will not pay you for your services? Your salary is what you steal."

"Understood."

Capricorn glanced back at Basta, who kept his face neutral. He sighed indifferently. "Very well. You may sleep on the floor in the dining hall with the other new recruits. Each of you—" he turned to the Piper and Firefox. "has two weeks to prove to me you deserve to live under my roof."

"How should we go about proving ourselves?" Anzio asked.

Capricorn gave him a predatory smile. "Use your imagination. Now get out of my sight." He swept away, leaving Basta to direct them to the stables and give them work to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

One week later.

Firefox awoke the next day on cold flagstones, muscles sore from doing all the worst chores in the fortress. He let out a groan, which elicited some laughter from the fire raisers hanging around the dining hall. However, he heard slapping noises close to his mat and upon opening his eyes found that a few wineskins had been tossed to him. He picked one up, raising it in a toast to the group of men it had come from, and took a sip. Despite routine hazing, he had found the fire raisers didn't hold any ill will toward newcomers. _We'll have to stick around longer for them to really hate us._ He thought.

"I see you've made some friends." Anzio's voice was cold and quiet next to him. Anzio hadn't been quite so readily accepted among the fire raisers as the Piper and Firefox, and had adopted a surly mood lately that he refused to talk about.

"Suppose so." Firefox replied, confused at the tone. "Where's Ivo?"

"Singing for Capricorn. The sod apparently thought applying to be his personal little canary would be a good way to 'prove himself.'" His friend said sourly.

"Good for him." Firefox stretched, stood up, and went off to find some breakfast, leaving Anzio behind. Firefox met up with the Piper in the courtyard and they went into the kitchen together to get some food. They joined a group of men eating who more or less accepted them and were rewarded with reasonable amounts of friendliness. Anzio eventually came over and sat with them, to slightly less greeting and enthusiasm, not letting them know about the emotions stirring and stewing in his heart.

After breakfast, the Piper gave his plate to a maid and headed into the forest to practice with the lyre Capricorn had given him. He'd had a few years of lessons back home, but he hadn't brought one with to the fortress. Almost as soon as he'd found a spot and started playing, he heard a rustle in the bushes.

"Who's there?" he called, turning around. A feminine giggle came from the shadows, and then a maid with black hair and a mischievous face stepped out smirking with pouty pink lips.

"Me." She said, as if it was obvious.

"Who are you?" the Piper asked in bewilderment. "Am I needed back at the fortress?"

The young woman shrugged. "How the hell should I know? I'm Roxane. I'm new here, too." She giggled again. "I've been kept in the maid's wing being the other girls' personal servant, but I saw you leaving from the window and…I just love music." She twisted some hair around her finger. "I sing, myself. Would you play for me?"

"Oh." He replied. "Well, I'm sort of rusty on the lyre, which is why I came all the way out here to practice…alone." He couldn't help but add.

"Please?" she was really pretty…the Piper had never had much luck with girls…maybe this was a chance for a fresh start.

"Well…okay…" he started playing and sang a simple song as she sat down right next to him and began to softly sing along.

"You're a good singer." He said awkwardly when he'd finished.

"You too." She slid closer, until their thighs were touching. He laughed nervously and his voice cracked. She laughed and kissed him. After a moment of surprise, the Piper kissed back.

Basta slowly ran his knife up and down a piece of leather to sharpen it, admiring the scraping sound it produced. It took him a second to realize that the new guy, Firefox, was standing near him. He gestured for him to sit.

"So, what's your story?" Basta asked.

"What do you mean?" Firefox clearly felt a little uneasy talking to him; a sign of respect, Basta concluded.

"Did you have a fight with mommy, steal a loaf of bread, or what? What made you desperate enough for somewhere to go that you'd come here? And without a sword between the three of you, no less." He said condescendingly.

"Um…" the redhead's eyes darkened, and he said "It's my fault. Iv—the Piper and Anzio just came along because they hated our town as much as I did."

"What'd you do?" Basta put the knife down, turning to Firefox with curiosity.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said quietly. He started to get up, but Basta pulled him back down.

"You want to know what I did?" he asked. Firefox looked at him questioningly, so he continued, "I was ten when Capricorn picked me up. This was before he hit the big time and got this place; he was still wandering around the countryside living off the peasants." He took a deep breath, remembering the day as perfectly as if it were about to be shown in a flashback. "It was market day in the town of Montecida…"

_Basta would have killed to be allowed to die. The village stocks were chafing his neck and wrists, and the crowd had been throwing eggs at him all morning. Yolk was in his hair, eyes, even dribbling into his mouth as shells splattered on and around his head._

"_Witch! Witch! Witch!" the cry had become a distant, repetitive roaring in his ears after two days up here. Somewhere behind him, he knew they were building a pyre around a stake, where he would be burned alive in a matter of hours._

_Basta's mother stood outside of the crowd, wailing for all she was worth. His family was prone to public displays. His mother was always crying about something. His father had been an abusive sod who often made a show of beating his son in his yard when he'd had too much to drink. And Basta, of course, had screamed, "I hope you die!" at his father just before he dropped dead of liver failure. Hence, the imprisonment and impending execution._

_Basta was too lost in misery and self pity to notice the crowd had gone silent and was parting for someone. It wasn't until the stock was opened and he dropped, exhausted, to the ground that he noticed something was going on._

"_Are you all right?" he looked up toward the voice and saw a man of about twenty standing over him, eclipsing the sun. _

"_No. What's it look like?" he asked, trying to maintain his surliness._

_The man chuckled. "Oh, I like you. All right, come with me. We'll get you cleaned up." He watched Basta try to walk, and finally picked him up. Basta let himself relax and leaned his head on the man's chest, getting egg yolk on his shirt. He could see the crowd been parted by men with swords and smiled. _

"_Sorry I got egg on you, mister." He murmured as he began to lose consciousness._

"_Don't worry about it. What's your name?"_

"_Basta."_

"_My name is Capricorn." The name was the last thing he heard as he blacked out._

"You're a witch?" Firefox asked in wonderment.

"No. It was the old man's bad luck." Basta said, fingering his good luck charms. "Just bad luck." He shook himself. "Anyway, what I'm saying is, everyone here did something they thought was unspeakable." He pointed to a man across the courtyard. "Flatnose there like to take small animals apart. He gave me this, in fact." He gestured to his rabbit's foot. "And Cockerell, he drowned three people. Slasher like to skin men alive and make clothes out of them; he's wonderful at sewing. Even made a saddle and bridle for his horse once. And speaking of horses, they caught Pony fucking one." Firefox was looking a little spooked, so Basta didn't go on. "My point is, if you've done something worse than what I've said, it's something to brag about. And if you didn't, no one here will think it's bad."

Firefox laughed suddenly, but immediately looked guilty for it. "I tried to force a girl back at my village." He blurted out. "You know…force?"

"Ah. Yeah, I know. Well, that's about a medium, I would say. Good for you, you're average!" Basta stood up and said, "Hope I helped," before walking away.

As the Piper stumbled into Capricorn's chamber after a shellshocking makeout session and the unexpected (but not unwelcome) loss of his virginity, he noticed he was looking at a table covered in ashes. He looked around the room and jumped when he saw a Night Mare crouched in the corner.

"Ah, Piper. I see you've discovered my little experiment." Capricorn said as he came through the door. "Don't worry, it's quite harmless. It's had only ashes to eat for weeks, so it doesn't have the strength to hurt a fly."

"Why—why are you keeping it in here?"

"In a few days I'm going to perform a spell of obedience which will bind this creature to my will, and only mine, for the rest of my life. Imagine the spectacle it will be at executions, when my shadow suddenly comes alive and devours the condemned!" Capricorn giggled with delight. "Now, before you play some more of your delightful music, I have one other task for you."

"What's that?" the Piper repressed a shiver. Would this task have anything to do with that thing?

"There is a gang rival to ours you may have heard about that's set up shop just past the Lombrican border, and we are in the process of negotiating a treaty deciding the borders of our respective territories. I need you and Firefox to bring the signed copy of the treaty to their headquarters to be signed by their leader."

"What about Anzio?"

"He's away on a little side project he asked to go on leave for. Don't ask me." Capricorn said at his nonplussed expression.

"If you don't mind me asking," the Piper said, hurriedly pushing the odd revelation out of his mind, "are we actually going to follow this treaty?" the Piper asked.

"Oh my, no. Just a formality."

"I see."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Firefox and the Piper arrived at the rival gang's headquarters, a medium sized farm in southern Lombrica, the following afternoon.

"They call themselves the Veil Hill Ring, after the hill the farm is built on. Apparently there's no difference between them and Capricorn's gang except they're not as big on fire." The Piper whispered to Firefox as they walked up to the guards.

They were led into the barn, which functioned as a mock throne room. The ring's leader, Benvolio, lounged on a beat up armchair on a raised platform. He was a short, rather plump man, given to flamboyant overuse of jewelry. He wore a fur cape like a prince's, which was stained and ripped all over, and he had several chunks of the turkey leg he was eating in his goatee.

"Greetings, my friends!" Benvolio held out his arms. "I assume you're here from Capricorn?"

"Yes." Firefox nodded. "We're here with the treaty."

"Excellent! Bring it here!" Benvolio glanced at the document before signing it with a flourish. "How does my new friend Capricorn?"

"I don't suppose he can complain." Firefox said hesitantly, unwilling to speak for their master.

"Wonderful. And Basta? Still throwing knives so skillfully?" Benvolio grinned savagely at them, his voice containing a hint of sarcasm. "Ah, no matter. Stay, servants of my new friend, and feast with us!"

"Capricorn ordered us to return immediately; our apologies." Firefox and the Piper hastily got out of the barn and began to mount their horses.

"Damn, those maids were even nicer looking than Capricorn's!" Firefox exclaimed.

"I suppose." The Piper shrugged. "Didn't pay much attention."

"Well, I don't have a girl at our own fortress to keep me occupied, and I _did_ pay attention. The maids were lovely." His friend asserted.

"Whatever. Let's just get the hell out of here." The Piper looked back down the long path to the barn, noticing some sounds of men running and weapons being unsheathed coming from it. In a moment, the entire Veil Hill Ring came pouring out after them.

"SHIT!" they shouted, and began to ride like hell for the border.

"It must have been a trap or something!" Firefox yelled over the rushing wind. An arrow zinged by his ear and he yelped in surprise. "_They're shooting at us!"_

They came to a crossroads and saw another horse riding across right in front of them.

"SHIT!" they shouted again, pulling their horses up. The rider turned in surprise, and Firefox and the Piper saw that it was Anzio. "What—" they started, but Anzio rode on and they heard the Veil Hill Ring gaining on them, so they gave their horses an extra kick and galloped on. Soon Firefox's horse let out a whinny of pain as it was hit in the back leg. Firefox jumped off just in time to avoid being squashed. The Piper quickly doubled back and swung him onto his horse and, with the Veil Hill men just behind them, they galloped right across the border.

Their pursuers stopped at the border and they heard raucous laughter behind them. Then they realized the fire raisers were also waiting at the border, also laughing their asses off. Capricorn himself rode over to them, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye.

"Well, boys, how did you like your first job?" Firefox and the Piper stared at him a second.

"What the fuck?" they said at the same time.

"I put a little note in with the treaty," explained Capricorn, "saying to chase the bearers of the treaty to the border! No hard feelings, I hope?" he asked as the two of them continued to stare at him incredulously. "Just some light hazing, nothing serious! I even told them not to kill you! Although I should have said the same for the horses. Those things are expensive, dammit…" he began to ride back to the fortress, gesturing for them and the other fire raisers to follow. After a few seconds of shock, they did.

That night, all the fire raisers were awakened by screeches, crashes, and Capricorn cursing at the top of his lungs. Black smoke billowed out from under the doorway for all those assembled to see as they stumbled around to see what was going on. Basta, a heavy sleeper, was last to be woken and had to push his way through the whole gang before he could reach the door to his master's room. Rushing to the office, he was shocked to see Capricorn falling out the door, his face ashen and his clothes torn.

"Capricorn! What happened?" he exclaimed.

"Lock the door!" Capricorn's voice was hoarse and urgent from fear. Basta obeyed and bolted the office door securely. When he had regained his breath, Capricorn pulled himself upright.

"Problem with the ritual?" Basta guessed.

"Yes. The damn thing won't obey me. I repeated the damn incantation word for word; I followed all that little troll's instructions!" Capricorn growled.

"Well, that probably explains why he went missing earlier." Mused Basta. "Shall I send a party out to hunt for him?" he followed his master out into the hallway.

"Yes. And wake the maids, I want some food." Capricorn snarled at a passing fire raiser, who hurried toward the maid's quarters.

"I'll come with you." They met Firefox, the Piper, and a few others along the way, who tagged along.

"What happened?" whispered the Piper to Basta.

Falling back with him slightly, he hissed, "It has to do with what I know you saw in Capricorn's room the other day. Now shut up."

As Capricorn sat, moodily eating a meat pie a maid had made him, the sounds of a horseman galloping into the courtyard could suddenly be heard, and the fire raisers went to the door to investigate. A hooded figure could be seen dismounting, and from the way it walked over to the entrance Firefox could tell it was Anzio. The look the Piper shot him showed he knew who it was as well.

In a few minutes Anzio was shown into the kitchen carrying two large packs, heavy by the look of them. Without a word, he strode to Capricorn's table and emptied first one bag and then the other in front of him, sending a shower of gold, silverware, jewelry, and other valuables spilling onto his plate, into his lap, and falling to the stone floor below. Firefox and the Piper exchanged shocked looks as the fire raisers' eyes, particularly Capricorn's, filled with greed.

A satisfied smirk on his face, Anzio explained, "Not far from here lives a wealthy farmer and his family who like to allow men they don't know to spend the night in their house without bothering to find out much about them. I slit their throats as they slept and stole everything that wasn't nailed down. Now, my lord, do you feel I've sufficiently proved myself?"

"Yes, I do." Capricorn smirked back, all traces of bad humor gone. "Welcome to the gang. Your friend will certainly have to try hard to top you!" Anzio's yellow eyes flashed triumph at the Piper and Firefox before he strode out of the room, slamming the door with a challenging bang.

In just one day the tables had turned completely. Capricorn now regarded Anzio as his favorite, and the other fire raisers favored Anzio over Firefox and the Piper. The only one still of their side was Basta, but since everyone hated Basta that wasn't much comfort. They still had two days to prove themselves, so they sat with Basta in the courtyard trying to think of something.

"Maybe we should just go kill a bunch of people too." The Piper said.

"Fuck that. Capricorn's looking for a show after what Anzio did. You'll have to do something really spectacular." Basta said.

"Well what are we supposed to do? We don't know what he wants!" Firefox said.

"What will happen to us if we don't prove ourselves in time?" asked the Piper.

"You'll get kicked out. What did you expect?" Basta replied.

"We don't have anywhere else to go, short of back home…"

"Which isn't exactly an option." Finished Firefox.

"Hm. Guess you're screwed." Basta walked off to talk to some of the maids.

"There goes our last friend here." The Piper said glumly.

"Just goes to show how quickly loyalty shifts in this place." Firefox said. "I can't stand the thought of going back home. The guilt is bad enough here, where I'm the only one who hates me." He shivered.

"Wrong as usual, Firefox." Anzio had crept up behind them with his own gang in tow.

"Anzio?" Firefox asked, confused. As Anzio's new friends advanced, he said apprehensively, "What are you doing?"

"Don't pretend you didn't have this coming." Anzio grinned. "Maybe this will teach you not to abandon old friends." He nodded to the men and they converged on the Piper and Firefox.

Despite their being fairly strong, the men managed to hold the two newcomers down and get some good punches in before throwing into a dirty stable.

"Oh, shit." Basta appeared at the entrance to the stable. "Come on, you two, let's get you cleaned up." They followed him, blood mingling with horse shit and dripping off their faces.

Capricorn's personal maid, an old woman who bore a slight, yet striking resemblance to him, set a steaming cup of ale in front of Anzio.

"A toast." Capricorn's eyes glittered humorously. "To the loyalty of old friends."

"To the loyalty of old friends." Anzo grinned and drank, appreciating his new master's humor as well as his taste in drink.

"Seriously, though, I admire your ruthlessness. I saw that little incident in the courtyard this afternoon, and I must say I was impressed. You say you've been best friends with them your whole life?"

"Yes, sir. And thank you."

"My lord!" A servant suddenly burst through the door. "The Veil Hill Ring are at the gate, armed to the teeth!" he shouted.

"What do they want?" Capricorn paled, knowing Benvolio's men outnumbered his.

"A territorial dispute, my lord. Apparently one of us pillaged a farmhouse beyond our borders according to the new treaty."

Capricorn started to speak, then stopped. Slowly he turned to Anzio, his friendly manner draining from his face. "Anzio…" his voice was soft and velvety. "Where exactly did you say that wealthy farmer lived again?"

Anzio gulped.

Firefox had almost finished Basta's wineskin when the Piper snatched it out of his hand and threw it across the room.

"Stop it! We need our wits about us." He scolded. They were with Basta in his bedroom, in the highest tower of the fortress. Basta caught the wineskin from his seat on the windowsill.

"I think we have bigger things to worry about than you proving yourselves." He said, pointing to the mob of robbers visible from the window. They ran over to look.

"Oh shit!" Firefox said.

"Didn't we just make a truce with them?" the Piper asked.

"Guess it's broken. We'd better go see Capricorn about what he wants us to do." Basta turned and headed for the door with the other two following.

They found Capricorn in his room, in a rage.

"Capricorn, what would you have us do?" Basta asked, keeping a safe distance.

"What's there to do?" seethed Capricorn. "They have twice the men we do. We'll have to surrender. And all because fucking Anzio had to kill a farmer that lived on their territory!"

Despite the situation, the Piper and Firefox exchanged smirks. While Basta and Capricorn were arguing about whether or not to surrender, the Piper's eyes drifted over to the parchment with the binding ritual on it. Upon examination, it became clear what was wrong.

"My lord! I know what we can do!" he interrupted.

"What, Piper?" asked Capricorn irritatedly.

"You have to bind the Night Mare in the next room to you now and use it to defeat the Veil Hill men." He said smoothly.

"The ritual doesn't work, you idiot! I was about to throw that old Night Mare out, anyway!"

"Do you know its name?" the Piper asked. Capricorn paused.

"What?"

"To command a Night Mare, you have to call it by its name. So it follows that for a binding ritual on would also have to use its name." Firefox said.

Capricorn blinked for a minute, cursed, and ran into the room where the Night Mare was. They could hear him frantically trying names, apparently assuming it was someone he knew who had died. Finally he came to "Eldridge" and a roar suddenly echoed throughout the castle. A few moments later a black column of smoke streamed out the door, red eyes gleaming at the thought of its first fresh meat in days.

After a minute Capicorn emerged as well, chuckling softly. "He did say it was someone I would relish enslaving." He said, almost to himself. Looking down at the gate, they could see the Night Mare had made short work of the lot. What few were left were running for their lives toward the Lombrican border. "I think you two have proven yourselves to me." He smiled.

The next day, as the Piper had shaken Firefox and the crowd of fire raisers that suddenly liked them again, he made his way up to the maid's quarters with a makeshift bouquet in hand for Roxane. Anzio gave him a yellow look of hostility as he passed, but he ignored it. Except for a few, all the other fire raisers were over Anzio.

He didn't find Roxane in the dormitory, but one maid who was there approached him.

"Are you the Piper?"

"Yes. Have you seen Roxane?" he asked.

"She asked me to give you this." She handed him a note.

_Dear Piper, _

_ By the time you read this I will have already escaped. Don't bother coming to look for me. This may be hard for you to hear, but I've been in love with someone else for years. We were going to be married about a month ago, but Capricorn attacked us at the ceremony. That was when Mortola captured me. My husband will be waiting for me in Lombrica, and I can only warn you that he can do some pretty cool shit with fire and if you try to get me back he'll burn you to a crisp. I'm sorry I used you, and I hope you have a nice life._

_ Roxane_

The Piper stood for a moment in shock, trying to process this. He could feel a migraine coming on, and his knees were weak as he asked Roxane's messenger, "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, sir. I saw her leave meself. Goin' back to that Dustfinger bloke, she is."

Fuck. _That _fire eater. Desperately searching for ways to deal, he asked her, "What's your name?"

"Myra, sir."

"Myra." He thought a minute, leaned in towards her and smiled a crooked smile that would become his trademark. "That's a very pretty name."


End file.
